Dealing With a Resturant Kitchen Fire

Restaurant safety should be of the utmost importance to keep you, your employees, and your customers safe. You also have a lot of valuable equipment that you want to protect, but if there is one thing that can literally put all of your assets up in flames, it’s an out-of-control kitchen fire. Follow this handy guide of do’s and don’ts when dealing with a kitchen fire in your restaurant.
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​Do: Always Have Someone Watching the Food in the Kitchen

When food is cooking in the kitchen, there should always be someone tending to it. It is much easier to put out a small flame than a bigger one. In addition, a grease fire in the kitchen can spread incredibly fast if no one is there to notice it and take action. Always have someone watching the food and burners.

Don’t: Use a Towel To Smother a Small Fire

You may reach for the first thing you can find when there is a small fire in the kitchen, but a towel is not likely to help with a kitchen fire, even if you soak it in water.

Do: Keep a Fire Extinguisher in a Convenient Kitchen Location

For safety reasons, your commercial kitchen should have an easily accessible fire extinguisher, and all of your employees should understand where it is, how to retrieve it, and how to use it. There is not much time to think when it comes to fire, so the more thoroughly your employees are trained, the more likely they will take the appropriate measures in an emergency.

Don’t: Try To Extinguish a Kitchen Fire With Water

Most kitchen fires are grease fires, and putting water on a grease fire will only make the situation much, much worse. This is also why you should not use a wet towel to smother a kitchen fire – it will only make the flames bigger.

Do: Cover a Grease Fire in a Pan With the Pan’s Lid and Turn Off the Heat

If the fire is inside a pan you are cooking with, use an oven mitt to grab the lid of the pan and carefully slide it onto the pan to smother the fire. Be sure to turn off the burner or heating element immediately as well. At this point, leave the pan alone.

Don’t: Lift the Lid To Check on the Fire

Lifting the lid of the pan to check on a grease fire could lead to fire reigniting. To be safe, just leave the lid where it is.

Do: Get Everyone to Safety and Call 911 If the Fire Spreads

If you are unable to contain the fire while it’s small and it spreads to other parts of the kitchen, get everyone safely out of the building and call 911 right away.

The safety of the people in your restaurant should take priority, but it’s also understandable that you would worry about your commercial kitchen equipment. For more information on repairing your commercial appliances with a Commercial Appliance Service Santa Rosa restaurants can trust, contact CASCO today or call 707-544-5200.​
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